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Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Veggie/Fruit Co-op

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         With some help from my sister-in-law we started our 1st round of veggie/fruit co-op last week! It’s been in the works for a few months so I was excited to start it up and reap the rewards. Above is a picture of our car full to the brim with all the goodies we bought to fill our members baskets.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA         Members dropped their laundry baskets off Friday night so they were ready to go Saturday morning….and by morning I mean right at the crack of dawn. My bud Jennifer and I left her house at 5:15am to make our way to down to the bulk market before they sold out of fruit and veggies. It was definitely an experienced and I’m so glad my veggie co-op experienced sister-in-law was there to hold our hands through the process!

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Once we were done with our shopping trip we headed home, unloaded the car, and started sorting all the goods. Kent (my fiancée) even came out to help! He’s a math genius which I am not so his awesome math skills came in handy. He’s in the mist of sorting a huge bag carrots in the picture above.

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Here’s the breakdown: Our basket this cycle included 6 oranges, 6 apples, 4 grapefruit, 4 plums, 1 cantaloupe, 2 heads of cabbage, 2 heads of romaine lettuce, 3 sweet potatoes, 4 rustic potatoes, several broccoli crowns, 1 package of cherry tomatoes, 1 package of mushrooms, 5 jalapenos, and fresh garlic. All that for only $15.00! I was super excited. As many of you know I’m a bargain shopper so it was fun to shop and see what a deal we were getting!

P1015522    Once everything was sorted and ready we called our members to let them know their baskets were ready to be picked up. Most people were just as just as excited as Jennifer and I!

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Above are a couple meals I made with previous veggie co-op basket. I was lucky enough to sub in another group for a week. That’s when I caught the bug and knew I needed to get my veggie/fruit co-op group going.
Left Picture: Oven roasted yellow squash, baked chicken breast breaded and stuffed with cream cheese and green onions, oven roosted jalapenos stuffed with pepper jack cheese and turkey bacon.
Right Picture: Veggie stir-fry with firm tofu, fresh mushroom couscous, fresh green beans sautéed with a little garlic and turkey bacon.

On the Menu this Week (using co-op goodies of course)
*Stuffed Cabbage Stoup (yes I meant to say stoup) with brown rice
*Spaghetti with mushrooms and whole wheat pasta
*Grilled pork chops with grilled sweet potatoes topped with parsley lemon butter
*Marinated chicken breast served with Texas style stuffed jalapenos and a dinner salad
*Whole wheat apple muffins as a little treat


9 comments:

  1. WOW! That's a wonderful idea:)

    ~ Reenie ~

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  2. How fun! I wish we had one of these in my town! Hope you're having a great Tuesday!

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  3. What a super cool idea! We have been buying local food through an online food co-op here for a couple of months now, and it is amazing! It is so good to support local producers.

    Thanks so much for stopping by to comment on my tiered planter and also to follow. I am following you back! Have a great day. :)

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  4. We are participating in our first co-op this year (we bought a share, we are not running it ourselves). I am so excited! What a great idea to start your own.

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  5. It's a great way to have fresh fruits and veggies at a reasonable price. Right on!

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  6. I would love to join in a co-op, how awesome! We're lucky to have a few local farmers and hope to be starting a garden, but I will definitely look into a co-op. Can't beat $15 for all those fresh, local goodies!

    Your food looks delicious, I never thought to stuff chicken with cream cheese and green onions! Love your blog, new follower!

    -Ann Marie

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  7. GREAT idea!!!! I never thought about doing that for myself. I bet you've got some very appreciative fellow co-oppers. We all love to save a dollar...or maybe a whole collection of $$$$!!!!

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  8. Your pictures are just beautiful! I'm terrible at taking pictures, btw! Well, I blame it on the camera! I need a new one really bad!

    What a deal on the fruit and veggies! I curious if they are still doing the farmer's market around here? I've been going to Aldi and getting my fruits and vegs and eggs from there! They have whole pineapples for .99¢ this week from what I'm told! There has been some awesome deals there!

    Oh! I would totally go to the sale! hehe! I going to be brave tomorrow and take my kids with me. We will see how this goes!

    Take care!
    Jennifer

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  9. I've never heard of this! What a WONDERFUL idea & for $15??!!!

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